"There are capable people around Huang Chao." Ximen Sigong slapped a secret letter on the table and praised it repeatedly, but anger and even fear flashed in his eyes from time to time.
They used the empty city as bait to lure the armies to fight in. The commanders who were jealous of fame and wealth, and the soldiers who wanted rich women, all wanted to enter the city. At this time, even if Zheng Tian stood in front of them, he would probably be run over.
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Although this matter has not yet been completely determined, it must be guarded against!
Ximen Sigong left in a hurry and soon arrived at Zheng Tian's tent. Generals Cheng Zongchu, Tang Hongfu, Wang Chucun, Li Changyan, etc. were all there. It was good, and it saved a lot of time.
"Capital, the matter is urgent." Ximen Sigong had been brewing a lot of emotions outside, and said with a pale face as soon as he came in.
"Commissioner of the Army, please take a seat." Zheng Tian stood up in person and invited Ximen Sigong to the top.
He still respected this old man very much. In the past, his father Zheng Ya was in charge of Guangxi, and Ximen Sigong was the supervisor. The two had a very good relationship. When Ximen Sigong left office and returned to Beijing, Zheng Ya was in poor health.
Knowing that his time was short, he entrusted his son Zheng Tian to Ximen.
Zheng Ya passed away soon, and Ximen Sigong took the young Zheng Tian to the capital and raised him well. Zheng Tian later became a Jinshi and served as an official all the way to the prime minister. He treated Ximen Sigong with great courtesy. The two of them really had the same affection as father and son.
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"Huang Chao wanted to evacuate Chang'an and used the empty city as bait to lure the troops into the city and then fight back." Ximen Sigong didn't waste any time and explained the key points directly.
When the generals in the tent heard this, their expressions changed. Anyone with some brains would know what the outcome would be if they deduced it a little. The sergeants rushed into the city and plundered the goods. The women would not be able to find the soldiers, and the soldiers would not be able to find the generals.
It completely disrupted the organization. Some people may even think that the equipment on their bodies is in the way, throwing away their armor, bows, knives, and shields, and only carrying heavy belongings.
How to fight like this bird?
"How did the supervisors learn about this?" Tang Hongfu asked.
In fact, he was no longer the military governor of Shuofang at this time. After leading his troops on the expedition, he handed over the position to others and focused on hunting down thieves. Li Yuanli took over Shuofang Town. To a certain extent, Tang Hongfu actually
They were all loyal ministers, as were Wang Chucun, Cheng Zongchu and others. If they died in the rebellion, no one in Guanzhong would still be thinking about the commander-in-chief of the Tang Dynasty. It is indeed a bit sad.
"Secret report from the camp in the north." Ximen Sigong said briefly.
"Zhuge Shuang?" Cheng Zongchu's old face wrinkled and said: "This man has 16,000 troops stationed in Jingyang, but he dare not cross the river. Where did he get the news? It may not be true."
"I also got the news, reported by Zhuge Shuang." Zheng Tian actually had not received Zhuge Shuang's military report, but he chose to believe Ximen Sigong, and it was very likely that this would come true.
Fengxiang's treasury is empty, and he relies entirely on Sanchuan's support, but it is impossible for him to supply goods without limit. Or even if he is willing to lose goods, if something goes wrong on the road, he is late, he is robbed, or he loses money, it may make him unable to make a fortune.
Providing food and wages. This time the rewards for the eastward march were indeed insufficient, and they were all encouraged by the tacit consent of the soldiers to plunder Chang'an. This was almost an open secret in the army.
"Since Zhuge Shuang has military reports, there must be no falsehoods. Du Tong, this matter needs to be treated with caution." Wang Chucun was more cautious and said immediately.
"How can you be cautious when you have already done this? The soldiers have traveled thousands of miles with the power of victory. If they are not allowed to enter the city, can you still control the troops?" Tang Hongfu was a little angry, not because of what Wang Chucun said, but
The Qi cannot enter Chang'an.
Being the first general to regain Chang'an is almost equivalent to rebuilding the country, just like Guo Ziyi back then. What an honor it is!
Well, what a coincidence, Guo Ziyi led Shuofang's army, and so did he, so Tang Hongfu especially didn't want this honor to fall into the hands of others.
Cheng Zongchu hesitated to speak, obviously not confident that he could convince the sergeants.
Li Changyan watched with cold eyes, seeming to figure out how to make a profit from it.
The generals were talking to each other, but Zheng Tian remained silent. In the end, all the generals turned their attention to him. He was the commander-in-chief and he had the final decision-making power.
"We cannot retreat." Zheng Tian raised his head. There was no turbidity in his eyes, no hesitation, only determination. He continued: "If we retreat now, we won't know when we will return to Chang'an."
"The 50,000 soldiers and horses from the four towns of Fengxiang, Shuofang, Jingyuan, and Yiwu were able to come here smoothly because of the great victory of Longweipo. At this time, the whole army retreated, and the whole army was demoralized.
Several months have passed. How could the saint wait for several months?" At this point, Zheng Tian increased his voice and said: "At that time, we can send an army into the city first to do a test."
Cheng, Wang, and Li look at me and I look at you. Who dares to go even though they know something may happen?
"If this is really the case, you don't dare to go in. If someone leads the army in, don't blame him for being greedy for great achievements." Tang Hongfu snorted coldly and said.
In the Battle of Longweipo, he showed off his extraordinary troops and defeated Shang Rang. The soldiers from all the towns swarmed forward and achieved a glorious victory in which more than 20,000 people were killed. In his opinion, Shuofang's army made the greatest contribution in this battle. It was the troops who regained Chang'an.
The first merit should be obtained by him, Tang Hongfu, and no one else is so qualified.
"Let's do it like this." Zheng Tian had no better way, so he could only say: "First go east to the vicinity of Chang'an and see if the nest thieves will fight. If they don't fight, they will definitely have left. We will make further calculations then.
In addition, you generals must restrain your troops. If you cannot restrain them, everything will be over."
Once the discussion here is over, all the generals will return to their respective armies. It will be troublesome to contact them again. I hope they will all be more alert.
****
On the sixth day of May, Fengxiang's troops crossed the river in batches and marched towards Chang'an. At this time, on the north bank of Jingshui River, Tielin's army was also making preparations for the war.
Going south from Jingyang to Chang'an requires crossing the Jingshui River and the Weishui River. The total distance is about seventy miles. Zhuge Shuang's intention is not to cross the river yet, but to march eastward with the entire army and contact Wang Chongrong. He has more than 10,000 troops and horses, plus
Up to Zhu Mei, the number exceeded 20,000. I heard that Zhaoyi Festival commander Gao Xun also rushed to Guanzhong with more than 5,000 people, but I didn't know if he would be late.
If the troops are progressing smoothly and Huang Chao is really running away, then there is nothing to say and he will be chasing Huang Chao's rear team. The enemy is in a hurry to escape and will not fight to the death, so they will be able to harvest a lot of food, grass and wealth.
If the armies suffer losses in Chang'an, they will withdraw to other places, which is full of Zhuge's military style.
But no matter what, this time Commander-in-Chief Zhuge also had a rare moment of toughness. He no longer looked forward and backward, and led his army to advance towards Weiqiao Town. There might be a fight.
That night, the Tielin Army quietly marched eastward. Li Tangbin led the trapped camp as the vanguard, clearing the way for the follow-up group.
On the seventh day of the lunar month, the main force had marched to a place less than ten miles away from Weiqiao Town. At this time, Li Xiaochang's 6,000 troops from Yifang also arrived. People on the post road were shouting at the horses, and they could no longer hide their whereabouts.
On the ninth day of the lunar month, Tielin's army continued to march eastward. Zhuge Shuang's and Li Xiaochang's troops slowly followed behind. At the same time, military reports came that Fengxiang's army under Zheng Tian was still in Xingping, west of Chang'an.
Wang Chucun's troops were still in the West Wei Bridge, Cheng Zongchu was in the southwest of Chang'an, and Tang Hongfu ran the fastest and had reached a few miles north of Chang'an.
"Why is Tang Hongfu running so fast?" Shao Shude thought that his Tielin Army was the fastest, but he didn't expect Shuofang's army to be so fast. He was so anxious to enter Chang'an? Chao's army was at least 100,000 strong. You can defeat him.
Come down?
"Military envoy, Tang Hongfu is too impatient and may want to take the lead." Chen Cheng said: "If we don't let him attract the attention of Chao Army here, our army will continue to the east and camp west of Weiqiao Town to wait for news. If Zhuge Liang
When the army entered Chang'an, we attacked Weiqiao Town directly and robbed the Chao army's belongings in Honglu Pavilion."
"No, this is the retreat route for the rebels, and they must be heavily defended. Where is Wang Chongrong?"
"Still in Huazhou."
"This guy was the first to arrive, but he has been stationed there. It's so boring. Send an order to check the situation around Weiqiao Town. How many bandit soldiers are there and where they are stationed. Let me find out. The army will set up camp after traveling five miles eastward today.
, wait for news." Shao Shude ordered.
Dongwei Bridge was originally where Zhu Wen garrisoned his troops. Across the bridge is Weiqiao Town. Now that Zhu Wen has gone to the east, I don’t know who will take over the guard. But from Huangchao, he dared to store a large amount of goods, grain and grass in Honglu Pavilion and Weiqiao Granary.
Look, there must be heavy troops, don't take risks easily.
So, it's better not to get too close.
On the tenth day of the lunar month, news came from the west that Tang Hongfu was stationed in the northwest of Chang'an, seemingly waiting and watching. The armies of Zheng Tian, Wang Chucun, and Cheng Zongchu moved slowly, as if they were also waiting for something.
The situation is a bit strange.
"The Tielin Army camped here to learn the key to the art of war." That afternoon, Zhuge Shuang rushed to the Tielin Army camp with three hundred soldiers.
"Commander, if the Chao army leaves, our army will start from here and pursue them one after another. It will work wonders."
Zhuge Shuang nodded and asked: "Is there any movement in the Chao army?"
"They have been carrying goods out, and the sergeants don't come out much."
"Okay, I will sit here." Zhuge Shuang got off his horse and said, "Zhongbao, send more people to inquire about Chang'an. If Chao's army returns to Chang'an, we will withdraw. If Chao's army jumps eastward, we will
Be prepared to pursue them. Well, we have to wait until the band of thieves has escaped before pursuing them again."
"The commander is mature and prudent, a true general." Shao Shude praised.